Instructional Design Model(s)

As physical therapist assistant educators, we are charged with preparing students to be able to safely and competently provide direct care to patients in a clinical setting. To my mind, this is impossible without experiential learning. The students are taught hands-on skills and must practice them and be able to demonstrate safety and proficiency prior to being allowed to engage in their required clinical learning experiences.

At the same time, our program must continue to observe and meet the standards of accreditation. These standards are simultaneously guiding and confining, though we understand that they are ultimately for the protection of the public and also for the profession of Physical Therapy. With knowledge of the Accreditation Standards and where our students need to be skillswise upon graduation, backwards design is a natural fit. Thus, this instructional design model, along with experiential learning, are heavily utilized.